Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

“The Queen of Sheba Kneeling before King Solomon” 
by Johann Friedrich August Tischbein, c 1790s

Readings for Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time[1]

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible[2]

Commentary:

Reading I: 1 Kings 10:1-10

This selection documents the visit of the Queen of Sheba. (Queen of Sheba: women rulers among the Arabs are recorded in eighth-century-B.C. Assyrian inscriptions. Sheba was for centuries the leading principality in what is now the Yemen.[4])  What is important in this encounter is the Queen’s profession that it is God, the Lord God served by Solomon, that has graced him with wisdom, wealth, and greatness.  The queen states clearly that God has favored Israel, thus reinforcing the notion of Israel’s chosen status.

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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 37:5-6, 30-31, 39-40

R. (30a) The mouth of the just murmurs wisdom.

Commentary on Ps 37:5-6, 30-31, 39-40

This selection of Psalm 37, the main thrust of which is evil will pass away but God and his Law are eternal, exhorts the listener to trust in God, and the “light” of truth will show the way of righteousness. The psalm appropriately extols the true teaching of God.

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Gospel: Mark 7:14-23

Commentary on Mk 7:14-23

Jesus takes that first command of God to man in the Garden (Genesis 2:15-17) and interprets it. It was not the fruit of "the tree of knowledge of good and evil," but the spirit of evil which caused them to disobey God's word.

The Lord also seems to refute Jewish Dietary Law that declares some foods to be unclean. The importance of this statement to the Christian community would not be understood until the debate about the need for Gentiles to follow Jewish Law was taken up (see Acts 10:14ff; 15:28-29; Galatians 2:11-17). The point he makes is that the food that enters the body cannot destroy it but actions and words that contravene God’s Law will.

CCC:  Mk 7:14-23 574; Mk 7:18-21 582; Mk 7:21 1764

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Reflection

The Wisdom of Solomon pales in comparison to the insights of Jesus.  The Lord sees many of the Jewish dietary laws as being impediments to understanding the real purpose the Father intended.  While not contradicting the spirit of discipline relating to the Laws, Jesus points out that true sin comes not from what goes into the body but actions that violate God’s laws.

Jesus is making it clear in this passage that human behaviors governed by the love of God and neighbor are the important elements of life as opposed to fearing for one’s salvation because a person unwittingly violated one of the dietary regulations.  His purpose in clarifying God’s will was to establish a hierarchy of virtue.

What we must take away from this scripture is at the heart of our thoughts when reviewing our actions.  We must, as disciples of Christ, look to what comes out of us.  We are called to be beacons of light to the world.  How can we do that if what issues from us is clothed in the darkness of sin?  Our call is to be emissaries of Christ.  How can we do that if we do not live his message?

Today we are reminded that we must work diligently to conform ourselves to Christ; to avoid sin and the near occasion of sin; to become children of light so that all the world might see us and believe in the true Son of God.

Pax

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[1] The picture is “The Queen of Sheba Kneeling before King Solomon” by Johann Friedrich August Tischbein, c 1790s

[2] S.S. Commemoratio

[4] See NAB footnote on 1 Kings 10:1